According to the Great Commission, we are instructed to spread the good news of the Gospel to all the world. There are as many different ways to evangelize as there are evangelizers.
To my way of thinking, one of the least effective methods is to back someone into a corner and literally or figuratively bash them on the head with a Bible. I suppose this has roots from my college days when random strangers would accost me on or off campus, shove a Bible in my face, and demand to know whether I’d accepted Jesus as my personal savior, while simultaneously waving the Good Book over my head as if threatening to clobber me with it. Really makes you want to commit to a Deity on the spot, doesn’t it?
And for those individuals who are irreligious to begin with, this technique is profoundly counter-effective. I’m pretty sure this isn’t what Jesus had in mind for how to spread His word because it sure as heck doesn’t work.
So I’ve come to greatly admire gracious evangelists – those blessed souls who take the Great Commission seriously but with humor. They never go around bashing people over the head with their Bibles, but win souls by gentle persuasion and honest truth.
Unfortunately, I am not one of those gracious evangelists. In fact, because I’m an introvert, I find it difficult to evangelize at all. This is a dicey issue since we are biblically instructed to spread the Gospel. So what’s an introvert to do?
Many years ago, I discussed this subject with a godly neighbor (she and her family have since moved away), and she had sound advice. “What you do,” she said, “is lay your straight stick next to their crooked one.”
When asked to explain, she said that people who have troubled lives or who lack a religious foundation have “crooked sticks.” Their lives may be complicated by addictions or bad choices. They may be uninterested in hearing about salvation or faith. They are certainly missing that core of peace that a faith in God provides.
This neighbor – also an introvert – paradoxically has a God-given gift of hospitality. She was legendary in our neighborhood for her deep faith, her gracious and stately welcome, her warm family life, her enviable wisdom … and her tea. In fact, tea was her weapon of choice in spreading the Gospel.
Friends and strangers alike were often invited to share a steaming cup of English Breakfast over cozy conversation. My friend never evangelized … verbally. All she did was lay the straight stick of her family’s life next to theirs, and that’s it. She never used this method to taunt or mock, but merely to invite. With her quiet shining example of womanly beauty, and the peaceful, happy family life she has created with her husband and children, people clamored to visit. The straight stick got seen again and again – and it was remembered after visitors left.
This isn’t to say she never discussed faith. But she merely led. She never pushed. If people choose not to follow too far, that was OK. She was right there for them the next time they cared to take a few more steps or yearned for another cup of tea.
It was not an instantaneous process, of course, but it was an enormously – awesomely – effective one. This woman, I might add, is someone I truly admired and tried to emulate. Hmmm, so then she was right – she laid her straight stick before me, too. Not a bad technique.
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Still, I don’t share this woman’s gift of hospitality, though I try my best. My gifts are different. So are yours. The trick, it seems, is to try and mesh one’s God-given gifts with the Great Commission.
This topic arose one time during a relaxed late-night discussion with some new friends. The group consisted of scattered small independent-minded Christian homesteaders gathered together in the city to attend a conference.
“I know we’re supposed to adhere to the Great Commission,” I explained. “But I’m such an introvert, I find it hard to evangelize at all. I prefer to stay holed up on our little farm, weeding the garden and milking the cow, writing articles and working on my blog. Somehow I feel I should be preaching on street corners and working in homeless shelters, and it all makes me feel very guilty for not doing more.”
“There’s a Bible verse I can’t quite remember,” mused another woman. “Something about how we should live a life pleasing to God by leading a quiet life.”
I couldn’t believe my ears because I knew exactly the verse she meant. In fact, I had adopted it as my personal motto. I jumped up, retrieved my Bible, and turned to 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
“That’s it!” exclaimed the other woman.
This verse, we decided, may be the key to evangelism for introverts. Not everyone is called to proclaim from street corners. Nor is everyone called to move to urban areas and minister to those in need. Some, it seems, are called to live modestly on remote homesteads, striving toward self-sufficiency and independence, and evangelizing by example. Others pour tea. In our own modest way, hopefully this “straight stick” lifestyle proves useful and instructive.
In the musical “My Fair Lady,” Eliza Doolittle sings, “Word words words, I’m so sick of words. If you’re in love, show me.” Sometimes showing is far more powerful than telling.
“Preach the Gospel at all times,” St. Francis of Assisi is purported to have said, “and when necessary, use words.”
God made introverts as well as extroverts. Not all evangelism requires words. Perhaps tea and gardens can be just as powerful a weapon in the Great Commission as preaching on street corners. Speaking as an introvert, I sincerely hope so.
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